These cups were made in Kasama as pieces to display the qualities of the local ceramic clay.

Many ceramicists in the Japanese ceramic town have a love-hate relationship with this clay. A dark material, not always the easiest to shape, it also holds great beauty and potential.

Entitled ‘Jun’ (‘pure’) Kasama, these unglazed works show the region’s clay in all its imperfect beauty - and are textural in the hand.

There is a particular satisfaction to be had in a hot or cold drink taken from such a vessel - and these cups were created with a cold beer in mind.

They are 12.5cm high, have an upper diameter of 8cm and 5cm at the base.  Each one contains 200ml of liquid and weighs around 170g.